Long Range Navigation (LORAN)

Research Paper
Long Range Navigation (LORAN) is a land-based navigational system developed by the U.S for the purposes of providing a navigation system that covers large distances. LORAN uses the conic section the hyperbola to determine the position of the receiver via the transmission of pulse radio waves from a minimum of three ground-based stations based on the time difference between the pulses. This allows for the precise determination of the time difference between signals from ground stations within a range of 1000 nautical mile radius (W. J. Ecker, 2012). The main application of LORAN-C is navigation. It is a reliable source of both aerial and nautical navigation since it is unaffected by weather conditions and has a large area of coverage, which makes it particularly advantageous in remote locations. It can also be used as a system for synchronizing long range time distribution, determining the location of thunderstorms and nuclear detonations, researching astronomical phenomena, location and navigation of vehicles in space and wave propagation studies are some uses among many others (Bailey & Jansky, 1962). LORAN is also important in establishing a precise reference frame for time, and is used extensively for this reason by telecommunication companies, power companies and the like (W. J. Ecker, 2012). This report focuses on the use of LORAN as a hyperbolic land-based navigation system. The U.S. National Defense Research Committee was commissioned to create a long-range navigation system of high precision in 1940 for aircraft navigation. They used synchronized pulses of radio waves from ground-based transmitting stations. In 1942, the first practical navigational system based on hyperbolic radio transmissions was implemented in England. This system was call GEE, and it was in frequent use by the Air Forces of the Allies in World War II. Radio pulses were transmitted periodically by ground stations, which were intercepted by receiving units in the air (Bailey & Janskey, 1962).

After multiple accuracy tests and field trials, GEE evolved into a new program, called LORAN-A (LOng RAnge Navagation-A), which became fully operational under the responsibility of the U.S Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943 to be used in marine navigation (W.J. Ecker, 2012). The expediency of LORAN resulted in the creation and installment of several variations of the program during World War II, the most successful called Skywave Synchoronized LORAN (SS LORAN). The single successor of these adaptations of LORAN still in use today is LORAN-C, which has been used by over 48 continental states in a period of over 52 years, although the use of LORAN is in steep decline as a result of the introduction of satellite navigation systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). LORAN uses a minimum of 3 stations, one of which is called the master station and the rest are called slave stations. Each slave station forms a pair with the master station and they become the foci of the hyperbolas formed between them. The definition of a hyperbola formed by a pair of stations is the locus of points such that the difference in time of arrival of the signals from the master and slave stations is a constant. This locus is called a LOP (Line of Position) and is a reference for latitude and longitude. Since the receiver could be anywhere on this locus, the second pair of stations is needed to find an intersection which would indicate the actual location of the LORAN receiver. All that the receiver needs to do to work out his location is find the corresponding LOPs on a LORAN chart, which is a map with the LOPs superimposed, and find where they intersect. The intersection of the lines will determine the latitude and longitude of the receiver (W.J. Ecker, 2012). The use of periodic pulses of radio emissions is what separates LORAN from other hyperbolic radio navigation systems. The master station sends groups of signals out consisting of 8 pulses in 1000 microsecond intervals and a 9th pulse with a 2000 microsecond interval whereas the slave stations only send out 8 pulses with a 1000 microsecond interval. The master station sends out the first group of signals which are received by the receiver and the slave station. When the slave station receives the signal from the master station, a period of time will have elapsed called the emission delay, and the slave station will wait a short period of time, termed the coding delay before sending its own group of pulses out. The difference in time of arrival between the signals is then the

absolute value of the time of arrival of the slave signal, which consists of the emission delay plus the coding delay, minus the time of arrival of the master signal. The receiver uses this difference in pulse pattern to determine which signal belongs to which station and from that, calculates the Time Difference (W.J. Ecker, 2012).

Bibliography
Bailey & Jansky, 1962. The LORAN-C system of navigation (report prepared for the U.S. Coast Guard). A-Division of Atlantic Research Corporation, Washington, D.C. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013. LORAN. Accessed online: 16 March 2013. < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/347964/loran> U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, 2012. LORAN-C general information. Accessed online: 16 March 2013. < http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=loranMain> W.J. Ecker, 2012. The LORAN-C user handbook (Commandment Publication P1652.5). Accessed online: 16 March 2013. < http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=loranHandBook>